1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to animal guards generally and, more particularly, to a novel animal guard which is simple in construction and which is especially useful in preventing squirrels and other small animals from gaining access to post-mounted bird feeders or the like.
2. Background Art
Many small animals are known to disturb post-mounted bird feeders or the like. Access for such animals, once the bird feeder is located away from trees or structures which may offer a elevated path to the bird feeder, is by climbing the post on which the bird feeder is mounted and it is especially difficult to keep squirrels from climbing the posts. A number of attempts have been made in the past to obviate this problem, some of which are complicated and/or expensive, and many of which are not especially effective.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,286,416, issued Dec. 1, 1918, to Rix, describes an animal guard for trees which includes a large number of pointed spikes extending outwardly and downwardly from the trunk of a tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,420,243, issued June 20, 1922, to Cohen, is directed to a rat guard which may be placed over hawsers, anchor chains, posts, or the like and which consists of a pipe-like form which is clamped in place. When used with a hawser or anchor chain, a serrated member is formed along the upper side of the form to keep rats from climbing thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,891,508, issued June 23, 1959, to Bower, is for a marauder guard for use on bird feeder posts which includes a rigid annular plate which is flexibly held in place so that the plate tips when an animal tries to gain a foothold on it and the animal, therefore, slips off.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,503, issued Sept. 10, 1968, to Schaller, covers means for protecting electrical transmission lines by providing a guard for each structural member of the support towers, which means includes a plurality of rows of sharp, toothlike projections along a section of each structural member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,856, issued June 28, 1977, to Chester, describes a squirrel-proof post which has a counterweighted sleeve around the post. When a squirrel reaches the sleeve, it slides downward, the squirrel jumps off, and the sleeve returns to its upward position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,546, issued June 18, 1985, to Latham, provides squirrel-proofing for a bird feeder of the type which is hung rather than being mounted on a post. Here, a flexible sheet is mounted above the bird feeder. When a squirrel tries to walk across the sheet to the edge thereof, the sheet flexes and the squirrel slides off without being able to grab onto the feeder.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an animal guard for posts or the like.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide such an animal guard that is particularly effective in keeping squirrels from gaining access to post-mounted bird feeders.
It is another object of the invention to provide such an animal guard that is simply and economically constructed.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.